Gray and Ruby
by MX5
Summary: And now for something completely different. A doctor and a gymnast. Unusual friendship but one for life.


Monty Python

Working on the set of Life Of Brian, I, Ruby MacMillan, was having fun. I hadn't met all six of the group yet, but I mainly worked with Terry Gilliam in helping with set design and dressing. I was a second year art student and as luck would have it, there was an internship opportunity available to me so I took it gladly. It wasn't much mind you, it was an all expense paid trip, my needs were met, and Gilliam had a sharp female mind that he could commiserate with on art direction. My specialty was Greco-Roman, mainly Etruscan, so I was perfect for the job.

It wasn't a bad place to shoot in Tunisia. The sun beat down mercilessly I admit, and it was hot even in the shade, but I was able to walk around in just a bikini top and short shorts. I turned some heads of course, which I enjoyed privately. Years of gymnastics and yoga helped out my physique.

"Ruby, can you help me for a second?" Terry G called, the sheaf of papers he was holding rustling in the breeze.

"Sure, Terry." a grip was walking by with a piece of the set at the same time I was power walking over, so I ended up tripping which I turned into a neat cartwheel. Those gymnastics reflexes still stood me in good stead!

By the time I reached Terry, I noticed people were staring. I had caught the attention of the entire MP troupe-something like a miracle! Michael, the cute one, was gaping slightly, and as I looked at him he closed his mouth and gave me a polite nod and grin. John looked amused, Eric flashed me a smile and a thumbs up, Terry Jones wore an expression of amusement similar to John's but broader, his full toothy grin broad enough to see in the dark. Graham, called Gray, merely puffed his pipe and gave me an approving nod.

Terry Gilliam's smile was bright as the sun as he watched me looking at the other members of the troupe. "Wow, they'll be talking about this for a bit! I didn't know anyone here could do that kind of stuff!"

"I did gymnastics in grade school. Anyway, what was it you wanted?" we had a brief discussion about Pilate's palace and how it should look. Terry took me aside, walking near the Python troupe, still discussing the Roman influence. Terry Jones called Michael and Eric to shoot some scenes, leaving John and Gray to their own devices.

"Hello!" John shook my hand American style. "What's your name?"

"Ruby. Ruby MacMillan," I shook both of their hands. "so what's new?"

"We were just wondering about your gymnastic skill," Gray spoke up. "how long have you been training?"

"I started when I was very young and I had to stop as a teenager. Lower back injury."

"Oh. What type?" I remembered that Gray was a medical doctor.

"Sprain. Even now if I turn just right, I'm fucked."

Gray's blue eyes roved over my figure, studying my lower back. John watched intently, wondering what his kooky friend would do next. Terry also looked entertained. Not knowing what to do exactly, I stood still as Gray jabbed his finger into my lower back-right where it often hurt.

"Is this it?"

"Yep!"

"Does it hurt when I do that?"

"A bit." the finger disappeared.

"I hold a surgery every night after filming. I want you to stop by and with a bit of luck, I can put that to rights for you."

"OK. I think my room is right next to yours so it'll be easy to find you." I gave him my best grin. He returned it as the breeze drifted through the set again, tousling hair and skirts.

"Come on then, they want us." John and Gray left as Terry Jones gestured to them.

A little bewildered as to what had just happened, I turned to Gilliam with a questioning look. He laughed heartily and answered, "Gray likes a medical problem to solve. He is the unit doctor here you know. He did it on Holy Grail too."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. On our stage tours he would look after all of us. He's set us all right with our problems. I had a problem with my right wrist, Michael's had a bout of strep throat which Gray got him medicine for, and John's had motion sickness on and off for years."

"Have the others had him take care of them?" we fell in step together as we walked toward the set. At least the sun was setting so we would soon be spared the rays of the sun, at least for a little while.

"Oh yeah. Jonesy has had bad colds on and off-always seems to attack his lungs first. Eric is usually the healthiest of them all. He's had the flu once, a mild concussion, and that's it."

"How did he get a concussion?"

"He wasn't watching where he was going and slammed his head on a piece of the set. Poor guy was green around the gills for an hour or two. Gray had him moved to his dressing room and watched him for about two hours. He'd just check in on him after shooting a scene or two."

"That's good of him."

"It's that oath he took." Gilliam and I watched as the actors performed their scene and Terry dismissed everyone for the day.

"OK, back to the hotel." I caught the shuttle bus with the others and told Gray I would stop by after the influx of patients subsided. I wasn't in any pain and I didn't see a need to hurry. He agreed.

The hotel was a nice place to be, built in the modern style with palms and fronds accenting the place. It was too near the highway for my liking, but if they weren't near the highway they could not stay in business. Fortunately the traffic wasn't bad at all. Each room had a balcony with a view of the highway which wasn't much to look at. There were certainly worse places to stay than here so I was happy with the accommodations.

I caught sight of myself in the mirror as I passed by the entrance hall. I was an average looking, slim lady with brown hair that was steadily turning blonde the more time I spent out in the sun. My blue and white striped bikini top seemed to stand out against my slightly tanned skin while my blue jean short shorts seemed to make my butt stick out. My eyes were hazel but I'd always wanted them to be blueberry blue or even violet like Elizabeth Taylor's.

Oh well. I wasn't hung up on my looks and I just didn't care the way most girls did. I took off my flip flops and sprawled out on the couch, grateful for the now cool breezes of air wafting through the open window.

Without even realizing it, I fell asleep.

I was awakened by a knock on my door, a little whispered mumbling, then Gray came in. "Ruby? All right?"

"I'm OK," I sat up with a yawn. "I fell asleep."

"Ah," he sat next to me, looking very tan in just his khaki shorts. "Now what I want to do is examine your back. Just lie face down and let me know when it hurts." I obediently lay down on the couch and pulled off my bikini top obligingly so he could get a clear view.

The exam didn't take long at all. I did feel a few twinges of pain as his expert hands soothed it away. His hands were surprisingly soft to the touch, working some sort of magic as my back ceased its unvarying aching. Gray could tell that I was relaxing as I gave a sigh of contentment. He chuckled, his voice having a pleasing note to it as I caught a whiff of pipe smoke.

"Do you do exercises to help align your spine?"

"Yes I do."

"Good for you. Your muscles are still taut but much less than they once were. Did you get any treatment at the time of your injury?"

"I did see a chiropractor for awhile and it seemed to get better." that chiropractor, a nightmare of an old man who had no interest in what he was doing. He had fixed my back but charged too much money for it.

"I see. You have a slight degree of scoliosis in your back." he pushed down a bit at the divot between my shoulders where I knew there was a slight curvature.

"I know." those ambidextrous hands of Gray's went all over my back.

" Do you have pain relievers just in case it happens again?"

"Yeah, I've got acetaminophen."

"No ibuprofen or naproxen?"

"No, I'm allergic to aspirin."

A few minutes later Gray straightened up and allowed me to stand. "That should set you right. You may be in a bit of pain tonight after I've adjusted your muscles, but tomorrow you should be back to normal. A few more sessions like this and we will have it sorted out." he looked pleased with himself as I stood up without a hint of pain.

"Good, very good. I appreciate it very much, Mr. Chapman." I had him pinned in my mind as someone who didn't stand on ceremony and I was right. He shook my hand again, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Not at all. Call me Gray. Just doing my duty. If you have any other problems, let me know."

"I will do." he gave me a friendly wink as I saw him out, a faint haze of pipe smoke lingered for a moment then disappeared out the window. Gray was certainly a very kind man to sort out my back problems-did it like it was second nature.

Later on in bed I remembered that I'd heard the rumors that Gray was gay, but that didn't matter to me. He seemed nice enough anyway, certainly set my muscle problems on the right path. My back ached where he adjusted it, but it was tolerable enough with an ice pack. The nap I'd had when I got back from the set certainly helped matters as I could stay up a bit later.

Gray's room was right next to mine, I remembered. He and I had adjoining balconies so I stood up, got into my pink terrycloth robe, and opened up the sliding glass door to the balcony. That cool breeze kissed me in the face, a welcome greeting from the stuffy room.

There was a chaise lounge on the balcony on my side. On the other there was an Adirondack chair next to an identical lounge. I slid myself onto the lounge on my side, draping my body across it languidly, allowing some of my robe to open up. I had secured it with my sash, unwilling to let my naughty bits out to play. I wasn't wearing any nightgown or any clothing whatsoever under my robe. I adjusted my robe so just the top of my boobs showed, then I heard the other sliding glass door open up.

Gray sidled over, the pipe in his hand, wearing just a pair of short shorts like he was when I'd seen him last. He took the lounge chair and dragged it over to be closer to me.

"Couldn't sleep, eh?" he lit his pipe and exhaled a cloud of blue smoke in the black night air. "Did I cause you a lot of pain?"

First off I was confused because I thought I'd been quiet enough so I didn't wake him up, then I wondered why he was up so late anyway, as it was 2 AM.

"No, it's tolerable, Gray. Did I wake you up?"

"No. I was awake for a few minutes, then I heard you out here." his gaze roved over balcony, seeing the occasional car go by. I plucked an African violet from a nearby pot and tucked it behind one ear, mimicking the Polynesian style.

"Ah. It's so stuffy inside, I needed some air." a nearby palm tree rustled as I dragged my fingers through the thick foliage. It was waxy and wet with dew, very pleasant in the still warm atmosphere.

"Yes." Gray agreed. "Do you have any men friends?"

"Boyfriends? No. My last one decided to try to abuse me, so I shit canned him."

"Abuse?" Gray's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah," I stretched again, adjusting my leg as it was starting to fall asleep. "he was big into emotional and physical abuse. Take a look at that," I showed Gray my scar on my right wrist.

"What is this?" an odd look came onto his face in the soft light of the street lamp about a story below us.

"Not what you think. I was cutting up a chicken for supper when my ex comes in, grabs me from behind, snarls that he wished I would die, then takes my hand that has the knife, and cuts me on the wrist like that."

I dimly saw fury now. "What did you do to him?"

"Why I cracked him one and broke his jawbone. I reported him, got him arrested, and he's in jail for the next several years." I drew my wrist away and saw Gray's features smooth out almost imperceptibly.

"Good for you," Gray paused to exhale pipe smoke. "I had a friend once who tried to commit suicide because his friend wasn't paying enough attention to him. It was more of a cry for attention, but then he hung himself."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

Gray accepted my condolences and changed the subject with a wry nod of his head. We discussed art, medicine, comedy among other things.

It such a beautiful scene. Apart from the dim streetlight below, the night had an ethereal quality about it. Cool breezes kept us both cool, the stars shone in the sky, we could hear a few camels snorting in the distance. At least we were out of spit range! Those animals were mean when they wanted to be.

"Filming wraps up soon. Will you still be working with Gilliam after that?" Gray broke the silence, shooting a look of disgust at the camels. I was wary of those beasts as well. They were prone to biting people and I know Gray had to stitch up a few of the extras after getting bitten.

"I think so. I've worked on stage sets and the like. I think Terry wants to make me the stage manager the next time you guys go somewhere to perform."

"Nice." Gray didn't say another word as I felt sleep overtaking me. He said something else but I didn't pick up on it. I thought I heard him say my name but I could not discern it.

I woke up on my bed, immediately confused as to how I got there. Gray must have taken me inside at some point during the night. Taking a shower, I cleaned up, put on a long flowing skirt, a short sleeved button up shirt which I left unbuttoned, exposing my bright blue bikini top. I knotted the tails together just under my bustline, put my hair back in a simple braid, then put on my flip flops again.

I breakfasted in my room, then caught the bus back to the movie site. For most of the day, I had consulted with Gilliam on what went where, etc, then lent a hand with constructing the interior of Pilate's palace. The mural on the floor was hand painted, I taught one of the painters how to get the marbled appearance of plain wood columns, and I set up Pilate's royal chair.

Helping Michael get ready for playing Pilate, I draped the cloth over his shoulders, a bright lurid red, pinned his laurel wreath to his hair, then pronounced him ready to go.

"Very good!" he turned to me. "And you're getting along well with Gray, eh?"

"Very well."

"Remember, he is gay," Michael told me in a low voice. "I don't want you getting your hopes up."

"Gayness doesn't matter to me, Michael," I told him. "I like him as a friend."

"Good for you!" he sounded pleased. "He is a good friend, now that he's no longer an alcoholic."

"Was he? I… hmm.. I've known of some doctors who love the bottle too much. They have a nasty habit of drinking to ease the stress and as doctors they should know better."

"True! I must say I don't come across one of your generation that has such a clear head."

"That's how I like it," I smiled. "I hate not feeling in control."

"Michael, we need you on set now." Jonesy's voice sounded. Michael gave me a grin and walked onto the set.

I met up with John later on at lunchtime when we were at the catering truck. We chatted a bit, I told him how much I loved Fawlty Towers, things like that. John went off to sit with the rest of the Python gang while I chose to sit with the makeup artists under the tent shade.

My mind drifted back to my life in London. I had come down when I was about 19, straight out of high school, with an interest in history in general. I studied voraciously all European history I could find, did American history, then took a course in Russian history just to make sure that I had at least a basic knowledge of the Romanovs. It was a two year course and I had even traveled to China to examine the Ming dynasty and their colorful history as well.

Each semester had a trip to someplace. The first one it was pretty local-a trip to castles around London, the ones that were in ruins, the ones that were still standing. The Queen still lived in Kensington so that one was off limits. Second semester it was Scotland, the castles and burial places of the Stuarts leading up to King James the first of England. Second year the visits were Germany for the Hanovers, then Spain. My third year was Transylvania for Vlad the Impaler, and we rounded out the course by going to Italy. My funds were too low to go to Russia and spend the summer, nor could I go to Ireland the summer after that.

I was glad to be able to go abroad with my classes at least. From what I had heard about the summer in Russia, most of the students got hammered on vodka and the little they learned didn't sink in.

Oh well! I never had a head for booze anyway. Now that I graduated and had already been kicked out of the dorm, I needed a place to go and steady work!

Why the hell had I been kicked out anyway? Doubtless some wealthy person, desperate to get their kid out of the house, had ponied up a substantial bribe to get me out of the way. Fuck 'em.

I could do gymnastics, dance, cook, etc. As long as I had steady work I would look in my spare time for something in my educational field. I resolved not to get worked up about it, at least not yet.

That night I went to bed a little later than usual. It appeared to me that the group had a longer day of shooting than I thought, so I wasn't going to stay up and wait for them. I needed to keep a schedule and they would not expect me to still be awake when they got back.

It was about 2 AM when I was aroused from my sleep by Gray opening up the creaky door and creeping into my room. His lanky form crouched down by my side as I stirred.

"Gray?"

"Right here," he answered in a hushed tone. "how are you feeling now?"

"Relaxed," Gray pulled the sheet up a little more. "you've seen naked women, right?"

"I have," he guffawed. "just trying to preserve your modesty."

"I know that you're gay,"

"Oh?" Gray froze but I put my hand on his shoulder and gave him a little smile.

"I think that's great."

"You do?"

"Of course. I give you major props for being true to yourself. If I don't see you after this wraps up, just know I'll be proud of you always."

Was there a glint in his eyes that wasn't there before? Gray cleared his throat. "I was thinking about your predicament. I had a word with my partner and we've decided to extend to you an invitation to stay with us for however long you need."

"Really? What about your adopted son John?" the makeup artists had given me a thorough gossip/info session on Gray.

"He's in college right now in Cambridge. You're more than welcome to stay with us."

"I would love it."

"That's settled then. You'd have a hell of a time to get a flat with the financial constraints going on." that was his polite way of saying you'd never get a place to live with the limited budget you have. He finished examining me, told me shooting was going to wrap in the next two days, then wrote down the address of his flat.

There wasn't much else to tell in Tunisia. I got to leave before the cast did with the other set dressers, grips, and the makeup artists.

Once I arrived in London, I picked up my things from a storage facility the college had put them in. The rental fees were almost through the roof and paying them put me in the red, financially speaking. Flagging down a cab, I went through to Highgate and found Gray's house.

It was a pretty white brick structure, three floors and a nice little garden out front that looked a bit neglected. With a bit of elbow grease in the spring, I could fix that up nice and pretty.

The door opened up and a beaming bald headed guy with a mustache ambled out, grinning with a hand raised.

"Hi! I'm David. You must be Ruby." he shook my hand firmly. "Let me grab those bags for you." he took them without a word and ushered me into the foyer, the grin never leaving his face. It would be very pleasant to live with them, I thought. I could see what attracted Gray to him.

"Beautiful place." it was cozy, with an interior of light gray paint in the hallway. The living room was light blue, the kitchen and dining room in a very pale yellow. In the morning light the room glowed. Some pictures and paintings were on the walls, though the place had a very lived in feeling. It was pleasant and not showy at all.

David showed me to my room which was beside his and Gray's room. John Tomiczek's room was across the hall.

"Oh, cozy." there was even a small desk I could work at. David put my luggage into the closet, inviting me for tea.

The tea session was quite lively, as David was an animated talker. It was easy to see the differences between the two. Gray was more reserved and on the quiet side, but David the exact opposite, David was short and Gray was almost as tall as John Cleese, etc etc.

He told me that Gray had met him during a holiday in Ibiza Spain, just after some college performing stint or something like that, they hit it off, and they had a clandestine relationship for some years before Gray came out of the closet.

"Were many upset or just shell shocked because of it?" I took a pull at my teacup.

"Shocked more like it," David put his down. "his pals probably suspected that he was a shirt lifter, but they never said anything about it to him. Great friends will give you time and not pressure you to come out if you are indeed gay."

"Very true, very much so. I had a friend growing up that was queer and it took him a long time to come out, but when he did, his parents threw him out of the house."

"Where did he go?"

"To me. I was in college at the time, but I found him a flat roommate that he liked very much. They connected and in the end became lovers. That's his happy ending and I'm very glad for him."

"Me too!" David enthused, stirring his cup absentmindedly. "We need more happy endings like that."

"Amen to that. Now tell me about your garden out there..." David had a full knowledge of the flowers and together we brainstormed an idea about how to improve it.

Gray's flight wasn't going to come in until late that night and he'd probably be jet lagged. I explained my schedule to David who was quite understanding. He promised not to wake me up when Gray came in, as he'd be very tired as well.

"For now, do you want to go take a nap? I know airline travel is exhausting."

"If I do that now I will never sleep tonight," I grinned ruefully, standing up and taking the tea tray to the counter without argument. "no, sit down, David! I insist on cooking for both of you at least twice a week to show my thanks."

"I won't argue. Gray and I never liked cooking much. If you're willing..."

"Sure shootin'. I had some culinary training by a friend of my family's when I was a teenager."

"Lovely!" David glanced at his watch. "I have a meeting to get to, but I'll see you later. You're at home now, so you can let your hair down and relax."

My hair was still up in a ponytail. I smiled and pulled the braided elastic out, letting my hair fall down around my shoulders.

"You look great with hair like that." he observed wryly.

"Oh, a silver tongue! No wonder Gray likes you that much!" I teased. Already David was putting me at ease, a rare thing to accomplish so soon after we met.

It was mid November, so working outside was not an option. I busied myself by buying a few potted plants, one an umbrella plant and the other was African violets, and put them in the house. The umbrella plant would not requite much sunlight at all so it would do well in the corner of the living room. I always had a thing for African violets, as my mom and grandma had them. Setting the pot on my desk, I watered them gently and inhaled their heady fragrance.

Odd to be in a place where it was over 100 degrees per day then be back home where the temperature was steadily declining. A little while ago I was parading around in my bikini tops and cutoffs, now I had jeans and snow boots. Snow felt like it was in the air but nature had not delivered on her threat.

That night I went to bed after having a nice chat with David. We already were getting along famously-he had the easy nature and laid back attitude which was a nice counterpart to the almost hypermania of his boyfriend. Opposites do attract, I thought as I got into bed.

Some time later I was awakened by someone entering the house. David's quiet voice greeted him, for it was Gray arriving back from Tunisia.

"Welcome home!" the voice was muted. I heard a small thump like Gray had set down his luggage. "Oh don't leave it there, bring it to the bedroom. You'll unpack tomorrow."

"All right," Gray's lively voice filtered up through the stairway and reached my room. I always had a habit of leaving the door ajar so I could hear him quite clearly. "by the way, how is Ruby?"

"She's fine, Gray. We had lovely chats.. time for bed."

"I'm on Tunisia time still. It'll take some getting used to London time again." Gray ruefully admitted. I heard them both ascend the stairs as I shot a glance at my clock radio. It was 3:18 AM.

It did indeed take a few days for Gray to re adjust himself back to London time. David found him taking a nap on the couch at 10 AM the next day. I had just come downstairs, having slept in a little longer than I thought. Fortunately the smell of tea revived Gray marvelously and as soon as he saw me, he gave me a firm clasp on the shoulder in greeting.

"Well, what do you think of our humble abode?"

"Very nice," I answered primly. It was a very nice abode indeed. Quite modern and with the feel that it really was a home, not just a building in stark monochrome like some homes were. "You guys are lucky."

"Yes we are." David agreed. "So what are your plans for today?"

"I will be passing around copies of my resume. Even if I wind up in a book shop or reception somewhere, at least it's something." I had a full folder beside my coat on the deacon's bench near the door.

"Yes indeed. I've got to start writing some skits again," Gray trumpeted, stirring his tea. "there's a few prospects and I have a few things going on."

"Good for you," I finished my tea and stood up. "I'm off. Will be back tonight sometime." the duo wished me luck as I grabbed my coat and folder, then departed the premises.

Two days later I had arranged for my belongings to be delivered at Gray's house. The van came that day around 4 PM, David and I sorted out what should go upstairs and what could be stored in the basement. I had a rocking chair he admired for the handiwork and when I told him my great grandfather had made it, he insisted on keeping it in the living room.

The rocker had three generations of my family's women in it, bringing up their families. It was nothing really special-painted black with a design of roses and leaves in the middle of the backboard piece.

Also David seemed to really like my set of dishes I had inherited from my late grandmother. They were green and white, based on Dickens's the Curiosity Shoppe. He and I had tea from them while Gray was out attending a meeting.

"Do you know how tea came to be in Britain?" David put his spoon down with a rattling little clink.

"Yes. Catherine of Braganza, about to marry Charles, imported it from her home of Portugal."

"True, true. What's this?" he lifted up a porcelain figurine of a ruby throated hummingbird.

"That is a memento from my grandmother as well. I have several more downstairs, but this one is special to me," I took it from him gently. "I've always had a thing for hummingbirds. My grannie got it for me when I was six. She bequeathed all of her collection to me, as I used to play with them as a kid."

"Aw," David gave me a little smile. "she must have been something special."

"She always will be, David. The tenth anniversary of her death is coming up though."

"Do you go to her grave?"

"I try not to. I wind up remembering the funeral every time. It breaks my heart all over again."

"I'm sorry." David reached over and put his hand on the side of my face. I met his gaze and grinned.

At that point Gray walked in and we changed the conversation. That night, I put the hummingbird on my desk, well out of the sun so it would not fade.

"Love ya, Gran," I touched one finger to my lip and then to the hummingbird.

All that week and the next I kept scouting around for any place to work and I was told that there was nothing available. I even tried a vocational service, but they frustrated me with all their endless tests to see where my skill levels were. When I tried to tell them, they ignored me and persisted with the tests, thereby wasting my time.

I quit that place pretty fast after the testing fiasco. Walking up to the house and going up the stairs, I unlocked the door and put my jacket on the hall tree behind me. Discouraged from my lack of progress, I slumped down on the couch and picked up a random book.

"Well! Back already?" Gray descended the stairs and walked over, sitting beside me on the couch. I groaned and put down the book. "I think that says it all, don't you?"

"There are no jobs in this burned out town. Fuck 'em."

"You'll find one," he reassured me. "life's not all internships and school. Patience is a big factor."

"No shit," I drawled, knowing he wouldn't take it the wrong way. "I'll find one, I'd just it was sooner rather than later."

"How about a weekend getaway? David and I were going up to Wales to lead a rock climbing team."

"I hike, I do not rock climb. Big fear of heights."

"Ah. Still, want to come?" summer had gone and up in Wales it had begun to snow already. I was surprised, but not too much. Weather was unpredictable.

"Well, I do like to ski."

"It's settled then! Come on, let's get packing." I threw my warmest clothes into a suitcase along with a few books for leisure time. Gray came downstairs with his suitcase in hand, a white and red striped scarf draped around his neck crazily.

"So when do we go?" I put my black leather gloves on top of my purse so I would remember where they were. Gray put his suitcase down next to mine so he would know where it was the next morning. He turned to me with a slightly flushed face, already excited about the next day.

"Nine AM tomorrow!"

"Right. I'd better get ready for bed." it was nearly 9. I scampered upstairs, thinking about what I would like to do while we were up there in Welsh country. Some skiing was in order of course, but possibly some ice skating as well. I hadn't done that since I was ten years old.

As I was putting my robe on over my pajamas, David knocked at my door frame. My friend was grinning from ear to ear and we could both hear Gray singing off key downstairs.

"Yeah?"

"I was just checking on you. How was the search?"

"Ugh." flopping down on the bed like I did on the couch, I gave David a tired glance. "I've had more doors slammed in my face today than ever before. It's so damned hard, David."

David put his arm around my shoulders, touching his head to mine. "You always hear a lot of no before you ever hear a yes. Why don't you apply at the BBC for any entry level job?"

"What kind of thing could I do there?"

"You can be a receptionist, work with makeup artists, etc. There's no harm in finding out. Gray's got a few projects over there at the Beeb and he can drop off your resume after we come back from Wales."

"Can't hurt." I muttered.

"Of course not! Anyway, you better rest up for tomorrow."

"Do you mountaineer, David?"

"No. That's purely Gray's hobby. I'm more of a snowshoeing kind of guy. You?"

"I can skate and cross country ski."

"See? We will all have fun!" I had to grin. David was such a charmer. With that, I went to bed feeling more optimistic than I had been in a long time.

The next morning, I have a hazy memory of getting up and doing my morning routine. I loaded my things into the car and promptly fell asleep next to Gray. He seemed amused by me, but I hadn't had a good night. My dreams had a disturbing feel to them, like something wasn't quite right but I didn't know what.

Gray woke me up when we got to the lodge. It was noon, the sun was blazing brightly over the resort, and I felt revitalized already. I put my sunglasses on and grinned, seeing the cross country skiiers moving along the wood's edge. A few people were skating on the pond, and a few snowshoers were out and about.

"I thought that would help," Gray chirped, shutting the trunk. "put a smile back on your face."

"Indeed it does." we brought our things up to the two rooms they had reserved. They connected, so I unlatched the deadbolt, drew back the slide on the chain, then opened up the door between the rooms. Gray and David's room had a small gas fireplace and kitchenette while my room was just a room-a king bed and a TV.

"Like it? It's called the South Lodge Suite," Gray deposited my backpack on a chair. "it was built so that was the main room and master bedroom, and this is the secondary bedroom. It can be rented out separate or be a package deal with our suite."

The room was pale green with a few framed photos of the lodge in summer and wintertime. The bed was adorned with a light blue coverlet, white sheets, and there was a pair of antlers on the wall behind it. There was no headboard and the furniture was in dark mahogany, odd for a place which had pine trees all around it.

Oh well. I wasn't going to nitpick. Tossing my pack on a chair, I hung up my robe so it wouldn't wrinkle, then put my nightgown on the bed. My toiletries bag I put on the sink in the loo, freshened up a bit, then took the leaflet sitting on the nightstand which listed all the activities they had. There was the skiing, ice skating, hiking, guided wilderness tours, plus information for mountain climbing clubs nearby.

After lunch we all went off on our separate ways. Gray met up with his mountaineering team and headed off to their spot to climb, David went off to snowshoe with a group of locals, so I went off to cross country ski.

Late in the afternoon I was following a trail when I looked at my watch and discovered it was time to get back. It hadn't snowed so the tracks I made were nice and clear. My issue was how do I turn around wearing skis?

I grabbed the trunk of a tree, hugged it, and somehow managed to turn myself around, rejoining the well worn path. On the way, I enjoyed the sights-cardinals flying around, a snowshoe hare hopping and browsing for food, even the screech of a hawk. A screech owl flew by close to my head, the talons clutched around a dead mouse.

"I love nature," Gray and David were right-I had been needing this. Filled with fresh gratitude towards them, I skiied on until I reached the clearing. A sudden sound like an animal in distress stalled my progress. I hunted around until I found the noise. A beautiful snowy owl and her fledgling were on the ground, the female owl had a suspiciously bent wing.

"Oh, poor things. I'll take you back to the lodge and they'll take you to the wildlife rehab facility," I had a small backpack on filled with emergency gear, so I took it off and very gently put the owl and her fledgling into the pack, making a small nest with a fleece blanket I had stashed. "hang on there and I'll get you to safety."

Strapping on the pack, I skiied out to the lodge, took off my gear, and was greeted by Gray who had come back early. He looked quite tired, but I guessed the climb had been challenging enough for him. He wasn't an expert by any means, but he did love a challenge.

"The climb was simpler than I thought," he was saying as I took off my pack in the lobby, gently putting it down on the floor and unzipping the top with a ripping sound. At the first glance, the fledgling began to squeak a little bit.

"That's nice, Gray. Listen, go grab the front desk clerk or manager or something."

"Why?"

"This," I brought out the nest and the softly hooting owl. "I found these two on the ground and the mama bird's got a hurt wing."

"My god," Gray stared. I didn't know if he liked animals or not but that was put to bed immediately as he barked for the front desk person. "OI! Do you know of a wildlife refuge nearby? My friend found an injured owl!"

"Yes sir," the girl picked up the phone. "this happens sometime. They'll be here in ten minutes."

"Right." David came in a few minutes later and was similarly impressed by the owl. Gray insisted on getting a picture of me with the poor thing, which I obliged. I offered the owl some water which she accepted. The fledgling was more suspicious of us, though I felt the mother owl had some sort of human intuition that I wasn't going to harm her. She seemed trusting for such a wild animal, also making me wonder if she had been accepting food handouts from other guests.

All those thoughts were banished as the wildlife refuge van pulled up, two handlers came out, bringing a cat carrier with them. They commended me for bringing in the owl and her baby, gently put the animals into the carrier.

"Looks like she got attacked defending her nest. Probably one of those big hawks around here," one of the handlers remarked. "her wing's not broken but we can fix her up well. Thank you for bringing her in, Ruby."

"It's the least I can do." and I really meant it. Being an animal lover, I would help any animal in any way that I could.

Later on that night, the three of us were packed on the couch, watching some of the crap that was on TV. David had just decided to get up and go to bed, I wasn't far behind him, already in my pajamas and robe. Gray yawned and draped one arm over my shoulders, drawing me a little closer to him. Both of us were extremely relaxed, so I felt no qualm about snuggling up against him, my head near his shoulder.

We stayed like that for several quiet minutes. My mind wandered like it was so prone to doing, imagining Gray and me actually snogging. I shut my eyes, imagining makeout sessions, torrid sexual encounters, everything X rated I was capable of thinking of.

Oh god! I realized suddenly I have a crush on Gray! Me, the person in high school everyone dubbed the proud virgin. Mind you, I had sexual encounters before but not to my liking. I was still proud, but not a virgin anymore. I could not let my feelings for another guy complicate my life. I didn't want to jeopardize my living situation either, so I vowed no to let on to how I felt. Fantasies fine, nothing else.

Time passed until I became aware that Gray was talking to me.

"Did you fall asleep on me?"

"Yep.." my voice croaked a little bit as I answered.

"Bedtime then," I groaned, becoming aware that Gray still had his arm around me, his hand on my left side. He grinned and boosted me up.

"More tired than I thought!" nearly falling over, I steadied myself carefully. My legs had been asleep, now they started to tingle painfully.

"Seems the skiing took it out of you. Do you feel all right otherwise?"

"Oh yes. Nothing sleep can't alleviate." I bade him a casual goodnight and went to bed, still keeping the connecting door open. Barely ten minutes after I went to bed, he came and peeked in, as I could see his silhouette on the floor. Shutting my eyes, I felt his rove over me curiously. He wasn't satisfied with whatever he saw, as he went to the foot of my bed and shook out the extra woolen blanket, draping it over me.

Gray retreated then, keeping my door ajar.

During the next few days, Gray led several climbs, David tried out ice skating and nearly broke his arm, while I went down to the pool and did a few laps.

Poor David! I had gone ice skating with him, I was OK at doing it, but he was a total flop-literally. He could not find his balance on skates at all. A beginner's class was no help, so he finally decided to quit and go with a snowmobiling group on a day long journey through the woods.

Not me, though. I spent the day lounging on the couch, reading, swimming, walking outside and taking in the beautiful scenery.

Gray returned around suppertime when I was returning from the pool. I was wearing a red halter style top, my bottoms were white, my sarong was white and red checked. My hair was back in a braid so it was away from my face and I had just taken my flip flops off.

"Well, look at you," he teased. "have a nice swim?"

"It was good. Nothing more important than keeping up the health and the body. Hmm. Maybe I could be an artist's model." I checked myself in the mirror.

"I think you could be in that body you have." Gray was checking me out! Maybe he was more bisexual than gay, but he needed to decide that. I couldn't do it.

"Nah. My butt's too skinny," I turned from the mirror.

"It's a matter of opinion." he said, noncommittal. "Anyhow, we have to leave tomorrow. Make sure you have everything."

"Will do. As soon as we get back to London, I'm going to go scope out some male tail."

"What?"

"I need to get laid," shaking my damp hair out, I struck a pose. "once in awhile I like to get out there and have my needs satisfied. I'll have to show you my fucking boots. Not a guy has said no yet when I'm out!"

The boots were black knee high leather with a thick two inch heel. I had what I called my slut outfit, a short skirt and off the shoulder top which was see through.

Gray looked interested. "Really?"

"Fuck yes." I winked. "Not to worry, I'm fully protected."

"I hope so." he didn't say another word but I had the feeling I had stoked up some feeling in him. He typically didn't express his but David did, another plus to having David as a lover.

Deciding to be generous, I ushered Gray and David out of the lodge, saying they deserved a romantic night by themselves. I would be staying in and ordering room service for the last night. David gave me a look of sincere appreciation while Gray looked surprised. Remembering Gray had a past as being a booze addict, I skipped mentioning alcohol of any kind.

The two left the lodge with big grins on their faces and I had no doubt that they would get into their own brand of shenanigans. In the meantime, I settled down on the couch, ordering a supper of salmon, coleslaw, and a side of my favorite, green beans. Since I didn't touch liquor myself, sugar free soda sufficed very well. For dessert, I had a baked apple with a little caramel sauce.

Since I was by myself, I let my mind out to wander and it quickly veered into a fantasy about me and Gray.

The sight of me would be exciting to him, especially in my bikini which had been known to make several guys pop a stiffy whenever I walked by. I'd had several enjoyable evenings because of my outfits. It was shallow, but a little frolic and fun on the cheap. As long as I made it clear it was a one nighter or a one hour stand, I wasn't going to commit to anything longer.

It was an enjoyable little daydream, Gray pulling me on his lap, some heavy petting, him necking me like I was a tasty treat, tongue wrestling, fondling, all that. Him running his hands through my hair, twirling it around his fingers as he put me on my back, released his boner, then went for me with all he had in him. I was plenty slick for him and he went in with ease.

After that, it was just grinding and hammering away. Rather anticlimactic, though we fell asleep with our arms intertwined.

With that fantasy on my mind, I stared at the TV without even really seeing it.

We had to leave early the next morning, about the same time we left London previously, so I made an early night of it. Ten PM I went to bed stark naked, wanting to sleep in the nude for some reason.

When David and Gray returned, I had been asleep for a little over an hour. I only woke up when Gray knocked on my door. A sliver of light appeared on the floor as I closed my eyes, wanting to get back to sleep.

"She's asleep, Gray. Time to get to bed." David told him. I heard his footsteps going into his room. Gray went into my room, I could hear his steps getting closer to me. Keeping my breathing low and even, I pretended to be asleep while he leaned over my prone form.

Still keeping up my charade, Gray gave me a kiss on the cheek, pulling up the covers a little more. The coverlet slipped, exposing my naked shoulder.

"You sleep in the buff, eh?" he muttered. "Dirty girl!"

That was a little louder than he meant it to be and I stirred involuntarily. "Gray?" my voice was so tiny, almost a whisper.

"Shhh, go back to sleep now," the coverlet pulled up, he brushed a bit of hair back from my face. "David and I just got back. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's okay..."

"Back to sleep with you." I consolidated my position, turning a bit to get more comfortable and facing him at the same time. Gray touched my hand for a moment, wished me a good night and left the room.

The journey back home was uneventful for the most part, except that the driver sprang a flat tire on the side of the highway. David and Gray helped a bit to change the tire as I kept inside the car so I could stay warm. When that was fixed, we were on our way.

During the weeks before Christmas, I gave my resume to the BBC like David had suggested and I landed a job as a stage manager for one of their studios. It was demanding work as I also had to work out the lighting with the director and technical director as well.

Christmas was coming and I spent my time not buying presents but making them. I bought yarn and made mittens for the guys as well as matching scarves. For myself I made a new necklace, stringing along glittery purple beads with white. Earrings and bracelet completed the set, and I crushed the rest of the beads, gluing them onto a barrette, organizing the dust in strips. Brushing the glitter with Mod Podge so it was evenly coated, I grinned in delight as I imagined wearing the set on Christmas day.

In one night, David decorated the house so generously it felt like I was in a house made out of tinsel. It was everywhere in green, red, silver, gold, etc. I helped him put up the tree, adorned it with the usual accouterments, then sat back to admire the effect.

In the few days before Christmas I threw myself into the cooking and baking aspect of the holiday. When I got back from work around 3 on the 23rd, I baked cookies, a pie, a batch of cupcakes, and made sure there was all of the ingredients I needed for other projects.

Gray and David were going to their families for the day on Christmas, John Tomiczek was also going to his biological dad's house. I would be alone but I wasn't really caring. At least I had the morning with the boys, as I called them.

Christmas Eve night I was cleaning up the kitchen after making supper when Gray, taking a break from writing, sauntered in.

"So Ruby, what do you do for Christmas?" he casually asked.

"Nothing," I answered, taking the plates and wiping them dry, putting them up in the cupboard with a clatter. "I used to do family get togethers, but that's stopped since I went to college."

"Why?" tact was never his strong point. Fortunately I never minded.

"Well, they disapproved of me studying history instead of becoming a lawyer like everyone else. Family's full of them. All lawyers are not bad people, but my dad is quite an avaricious moneygrubbing self important snob. I wasn't going down that route."

"Why don't you come with me? My parents have heard about you and they're curious to meet you." Gray picked up the dish towel I had just set down and took the pot from my hands as well. He rubbed it down, blue eyes looking intently at it for a moment, eyed it in the light, then put it in the cupboard with a hollow thud.

"I couldn't do that. It's a time for family, Gray. Besides I'll have you two in the morning." I had already put the presents under the tree and both had been eyeing them curiously.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't press my family on you. My brother's a surgeon. You might like him."

"Sometime maybe," I politely put him off. "I promised I'd go to the studio for a few hours after you guys leave. They need someone to supervise the maintenance people who are going to fix one of the cameras. I have to be there with the keys to let them in too."

Gray took the plate I'd been wiping and put it away with a loud rattle. "Are you really sure?" his big blue eyes fixed on me as I put the towel down on the counter.

"It's a time for family. I would not be comfortable intruding on family time." I said firmly. "Besides I have supper to cook when I get back and it's gonna take some time."

"OK, I guess. The food obviously can't wait." Gray was obviously let down a bit. I don't know why, but he seemed to have his heart set on me meeting his family.

"Oh, don't be cheeky!" I patted his cheek playfully. "You won't be when you see your presents tomorrow! Besides that I can really cook and you won't be disappointed."

"Now I'm intrigued. What have you got planned?"

"I'm not spoiling it! No, get your hands out of the fridge!" I scolded Gray, smacking him across the ass with the dish towel. "Shoo!" he fled and I chased him, giggling.

"All right. Back to the writing room." on the third story of the house Gray had the entire floor converted into a writing room. He had a desk, David had a desk. Both of them frequently consulted each other, and at the other end of the room was a library. John Cleese had a library which was much bigger than Gray and David's; it was impressive to see. I only had the chance to see it once when we were invited to lunch.

David came down as Gray was going up, so I slumped down on the couch while David sat beside me. I had made a decision to talk to David as my sex dreams with Gray were driving me out of my mind.

"David, I'm going nuts."

"Didn't you already?"

"No, you bastard!" I laughed. "I want to tell you something but I don't want you to tell anyone, OK?"

"Fine. I swear I won't tell."

"Right. I've got a crush on Gray." David didn't change his expression at all.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Ir occurred to me back at the lodge in Wales last month." I admitted. "I've been keeping quiet on it but the dreams are driving me to distraction."

"Ah, I see."

"I know Gray's gay so I will never have a shot with him."

"Well I don't know about that. He's told me that when he's horny and I'm not around that he'll sometimes go for a girl. He likes to go to bed with men, but he has been known to screw a girl."

"So you don't think he's strictly gay?"

"I think he's more bisexual than anything but I'm OK with it. Our relationship is pretty open."

"You're OK with that?"

"Yes indeed. Let me put it this way: If Gray ever starts coming on to you, you can sleep with him and I will not get mad."

"I don't think it will ever get that far, but OK."

David laughed. "Nobody ever thinks that, then it happens. Gray's one surprising human being. You know he was an alcoholic?"

"I do."

"It got bad after awhile but he managed to kick the habit in time to play Brian. I'm quite proud of him."

"Me too."

"Do you know that Gray likes to go into your room after you're asleep and just watch you for a moment or two?"

"Why?" Creepy! No, maybe not. Sometimes I thought I heard him but I assumed that I was dreaming.

"Hard to say. He genuinely likes you very much and I think he thinks it's sweet to watch you sleep. He's never inappropriate." he added quickly.

"It's OK. I trust you both completely." David stood up, went over to the TV, switched it on and started flipping channels. After a few moments he settled on a grainy black and white picture.

"Have you ever seen It's A Wonderful Life with James Stewart?"

"No."

"No?! You must watch it with me then, right now!" so I cozied up to David and we began the movie.

When the movie concluded, I was asleep on the couch, snuggled up to David. It was so sweet to be with such wonderful guys. Gray with his eccentricities, David with his levelheadedness, much like my own. Like I did before, I offered up silent thanks to God for my good fortune.

"I finished the script, David!"

"Shh, Gray. Ruby's asleep." David's voice drifted to me as I woke up a little bit.

"Thought she went to bed." the couch depressed a little as Gray joined David.

"I insisted she watch the James Stewart movie with me."

"I see. How long did it take for her to fall asleep?"

"Not long at all. She's been busy all day."

"Might as well take her up to bed. Come on, David." I felt myself being lifted up. The next thing I remembered was sinking into my bed, someone took my shoes, pants, and shirt off. A fleece blanket was draped over me, the warmth penetrated my skin fully and I fell back asleep before Gray and David had left my room.

Christmas day went off without a hitch. Gray and David both loved their presents and in fact wore them to their parents' houses that very day. I spent a few hours at the studio, making sure that the repairmen worked on the correct cameras and all of that jazz. When I returned, I took out a roasting chicken I had bought the previous day and prepared it, as it would take at least 3 hours.

I rubbed some butter under the skin of the bird, cut an onion in half, poked it into the cavity, then put it in the oven.

The Christmas cupcakes I made would serve as dessert at least for me who didn't like pie in the least. I knew the boys liked it so I made it especially for them.

As luck would have it, the boys came in at the exact time I was taking the chicken out of the oven. We had a grand time, me teasing the boys as they didn't have a clue on how to carve a chicken properly.

There wasn't much else to tell about the night. It was very uneventful and the boys were behaving properly, so I let them outside and winged them both with snowballs playfully until they relented and we had an old fashioned snowball fight.

New Year's Eve was pretty much the same. The boys didn't celebrate it with their families so all 3 of us went to the gathering in Hyde Park to watch the fireworks. Gray and David did their kiss at midnight while I looked on, beaming. Then I felt a hand tug at mine, I turned, Eric Idle was grinning at me. He lunged forward and locked lips with me, fulfilling one of my dreams.

It was in mid January that something happened that would change my life forever.

I was walking home from work and of course in January the sun went down rather too quickly. I had a busy day stage managing, filling in for someone who couldn't make it and whatnot. My work friends had invited me to a party that I was looking forward to.

The kiss from Eric at New Year's was just a kiss and that was all. He and I held no attraction to each other at all. Even though I did wonder if he had been developing some sort of crush on me, I was relieved when he told me a few days later that he didn't have any kind of romantic interest in me at all. That was rather a letdown, but I didn't mind. Eric told me he thought it was a spur of the moment, right place at the right time thing. I didn't care in the least but appreciated the gesture.

Bringing my mind back to the present, I didn't see the thug jump me until it was too late. He tried to grab my purse but I knew better than to wear one on the streets, especially after dark. I tried to fight back but he was too powerful for me. The thug slammed me to the ground, making me slip on the ice and hit my head. Blows rained down on me as he tried to find a purse or anything valuable to steal but there was nothing. Wanting to stay alert and fight back, my mind thought otherwise and the spinning world as I knew it receded from my mind.

When I woke up, the thug was gone and so was all my innocence. My left ankle was on fire, my head hurt abominably and I was sore all over. I had to struggle to get up and stagger over to the house, praying that Gray was home. Sometimes he stayed out late with his pals but tonight I needed him badly.

Why did it have to be stairs? I thought to myself as I limped up the stairs to the house, my ankle screaming at me. Shaking, I opened up the door, forgot to step onto the threshold, then let out a cry of pain as my bad ankle was wrenched from the fall. I landed with a dull thud in the foyer, just managing to slam the door shut with my good foot. The hall light was on, an indicator that Gray was indeed home.

"What's going on down there?" Gray called.

"Gray! David! I need help!" my voice was pathetically weak. Grey, fortunately, was right at the top of the stairs and came right down. David wasn't home-I was to learn later that he was at a friend's house.

"What happened?" Gray came into my vision as he ran over and knelt down next to me, flicking on the kitchen light. I winced at the sudden brightness, recoiling sharply as the light seemed to burn into my eyes.

"Some thug tried to mug me." he grabbed at my face and tilted my head so he could see me better in the light. Blood trickled down from a shallow cut near my left temple, so Gray produced his medical kit and dabbed it away. He quickly bandaged it and began to examine my limbs.

"Where are you hurt?" he had a light touch so I barely noticed him palpating each of my limbs in turn as I tried to ignore the fire in my ankle and the dull roaring sound in my head. My vision was beginning to turn fuzzy, not a good sign.

"All over. I hit my head pretty good, the guy knocked me down and beat me."

"Were you conscious for all of this?" Gray pulled out his medical bag and shined a penlight in my eyes, evidently not being able to ascertain much from the indirect light of the kitchen. I recoiled from it instantly, the light feeling like it was stabbing my retinas again.

"No."

"You're concussed. I need to get you to the hospital."

"I wish I didn't have to go." I moaned.

"Can't be helped," Gray insisted. "can you stand at all?"

"My left ankle is completely shot, Gray. " he hoisted me up so I could stand on my good ankle. Closing up the house and grabbing his keys, Gray put me in the car with a strict instruction not to pass out again. Being outside of the house started me shaking uncontrollably as Gray put his overcoat across my shoulders and turned on the car heater full blast. He put his hand on my shoulder, trying to give me a little reassurance, wary of squeezing it as we both didn't know how bad the damage was to my body yet.

"I'll do my best, no guarantees." I leaned my head on the head rest, trying to keep myself alert.

Unfortunately it didn't work.

My next memory was of lying on a gurney being transferred over to the X-ray table. My head seemed to scream with pain, I alerted the attendant, had to rate the pain, and I was given a sedative plus painkiller which made the examinations much more pleasant.

My mind went in and out, as I remember tubing, wires, and lots of IV bags. Gray's voice came in and out, he loomed into my blurry focus once and that was it.

Finally, when consciousness was permitted to return, I saw the regulation hospital white with the faint smell of antiseptic. The hospital bed was a little uncomfortable for me-I always preferred firm beds as opposed to soft. There was an IV in my left arm connected to a regular drip. My pain was low actually, and I could tell I'd been tended to quite efficiently.

The hospital ID band they'd tagged me with read all my demographic information and listed G Chapman, MD in bold letters as my attending. Expecting no less, I knew he'd stop in to check on me sometime soon. In the meantime, I knew that the police would stop by and take my statement on what went on and I wasn't disappointed.

Less than ten minutes after I woke up, a constable stopped in to take my statement. He asked several questions, I clarified exactly what had happened, told him it was dark and I couldn't see my attacker's face or anything distinguishing. It wasn't much to work with, I could see the cop's look of apprehension as he told me so. I knew the odds were not in my favor and acknowledged it.

That seemed to help his conscience a bit. The constable rose from his chair, wished me well, and departed the ward. I sympathized with him, he wanted to do a good job, bag the thief, then tell me I could press charges, etc, but the odds were against it. I doubted I'd be able to identify the thief even if he was walking beside me on the sidewalk. Poor guy.

Later on in the day I was dozing off in the warm sunshine when Gray came in. Talking to the nurse in a low voice so he didn't disturb me, I heard several rustling sounds which meant he was stripping the packaging off some medicine or a suture kit.

A hand put itself on my shoulder and gently shook it. "Ruby, time to wake up."

Oh, come on! I could not catch a break recently. He wasn't going to let up so I reluctantly opened up my eyes. The anxiety lines on Gray's face disappeared as I turned my gaze on him, not moving my head as much as I could. His expression told me he was still worried about me but what specifically I didn't know.

"Welcome back," he greeted me. "how are you feeling now?"

"Better." Gray examined me again, satisfied because I was no longer a bleeding mass on the floor of the house. Trying to get more comfortable, I gripped the edge of the bedrail and began to elevate myself a little.

"No, don't sit up," he admonished, his hand still on my shoulder now exerting a steady pressure to stay down. "your blood pressure is a bit lower than I want, so stay horizontal for now."

"I can't argue." I sighed. "Too damn tired."

"Nothing to fret over. Your body is healing itself so it will take awhile. I was told you already spoke to the police?" Gray added an additional bag to my IV line. Squinting a bit in the low afternoon light, I could see the label-potassium. The nurses often referred to these as banana bags.

"I did. How long was I out for?" the tape they used to put the IV line down was irritating my skin and getting a bit itchy so I gave it a rub as Gray connected the IV lines together.

"Well, you came in here at around 1:30 AM and it's half past four now. I gave you some painkillers about an hour ago while you were asleep and you'll be due for another round in another 4 hours. " sounding very professional, Gray pulled the little wheeled tray over to my bedside and pulled out a packet which he began to open up.

"Oh. When do I get to go home?"

"Tomorrow."

"I'll be glad to. It'll be lonely without you and David."

Gray finished chucking out the packaging and I saw it was indeed a suture kit. "I was in a rush to get your head wound settled that I forgot to check on that long scratch on your thigh."

"I have a scratch on my thigh?" I wanted to see, but Gray pushed me back down.

"Take my word for it, all right?" he admonished gently. "I need to stitch it closed. First off I need to give you a local anesthetic. It'll sting for a moment."

"Fine." I let Gray take over, pushing up my blanket and hospital johnny, exposing my cut. I couldn't see it of course, but he could. Gray took off the temporary dressing, picked up a syringe, glanced at me, then injected the contents into my thigh. Looking like he was waiting for a reaction, I fear I disappointed him at that point.

"Like I've been stung by a bee." I did not flinch.

"No outburst of how it hurts?" he was disappointed! "I've seen people jump up and down screaming. You really are something, aren't you?"

"I'm not any ordinary girl!" I pretended offense. "You know that by now, right?"

Gray laughed, picking up the suture needle and threading it. "If I didn't then, I know now!" he was the first man I'd ever seen managing to thread a needle of any kind correctly on the first try. Now I saw the doctor in him as his brow furrowed, pinching the lips of my cut, needle poised for action. Like a professional diver he plunged right in, sewing a neat row of stitches.

It was only a few seconds after he started stitching when I felt my senses go on strike and leave, putting me into a deep blackness.

"Ruby?" something sharp jabbed at my sinuses, making me blink and look up.

"Smells like dog farts," I muttered, rubbing one eye. "what is it?"

Gray was sitting on the edge of my bed, looking at me with concern etched deeply into his face. "You lost consciousness. I'm going to order another X-ray and make sure there's no late effects to your head. You look fine, but I need to make sure."

"Well, you said I'm recovering so something like this shouldn't be unusual, right?"

"True, but I'm worried about you," he stood up, giving my hand a pat in reassurance. "I need to make sure there's no other damage."

"OK, I trust you." his eyes lightened up a bit, the same brilliant blue that I'd always seen and he seemed to walk a little more proudly. Gray must be having an easy time of it, being my personal physician and nobody else's. I knew he'd have more free time than any other doctor around which hopefully meant that I'd get my treatment quicker.

Then again I could be wrong. Whatever happened, I'd have him with me. It was nice to think that I was not alone for once.

Before I knew what was happening, I was taken down to X-ray by an overly friendly nurse, had my head examined, and was shuttled back upstairs. I saw one old battleaxe nurse who must have been there for a long time fast talk a belligerent patient into behaving himself.

Back in my bed, I was told by the nurse that Gray had put me on a restricted diet until he could figure out if I had any other damage to my head. I was so tired out from the experience I didn't care about supper, I wanted to sleep more than anything.

Gray was such a sweetheart. In spite of what David had told me, that he didn't think that Gray wasn't a strictly boy's own type of guy, I had my doubts. Once a guy declared his gayness he usually didn't backtrack to us women. If he had admitted he was bisexual I would have been fine with it, but he did not. Anyway, I was fine with him as a friend, doctor, and an overall outstanding person. I was happy that I had crossed paths with him in Tunisia. He was warm, funny, caring, all the qualities I admired.

The next time I woke up I found a note on the bedside table. It read:

"The X-rays didn't show anything new so I'm content. I will take you home today when I come by to visit around 10 AM. You have no dietary restrictions now. I didn't have the heart to wake you up when I came by tonight, so I chose to leave a note instead.

"Fondly, Gray (MD)." I had to smile, his mockery of his own medical degree. So Pythonesque.

It was around 4 AM, so he wouldn't be by for several hours yet. There was a blister pack on the little table, the label identifying it as a generic sleep aid so I glanced at the note again.

"Your head may still be hurting a bit. I left you a sleep aid in case you need help. -G."

Clever doctor! I decided to take the pill, cursing as the thickly wrapped purple caplets did not yield easily. Fortunately I had long nails so I could manage to penetrate the foil and take the damn pills.

Sleeping was easy after that; I managed to stay asleep until 9:30. They fed me, a soft speaking quiet nurse assisted me with getting dressed. After that I perched on the bed, ready and waiting for Gray to take me back home.

When he came in, he looked pretty tired, making me wonder what he was up to. I knew he wasn't relapsing into his previous booze fueled lifestyle as I couldn't smell it on him. Upon my departure, the nurse came in with a wheelchair which was standard hospital policy. My pride said I didn't need the wheelchair, so Gray told me to take his arm very firmly and tell him if I felt faint.

He latched onto my hand like it was a lifeline and as per hospital policy, the nurse followed us with the wheelchair just in case. I had to hobble as my left ankle was sprained and it wouldn't be healed for at least two weeks. I must have sprained it when I fell on the ice, though it was odd at the time I didn't feel the pain immediately.

Once we were settled in the car Gray turned it on and drove us back home. It felt so good to return, minding the stairs and stepping up to avoid tripping again!

"Welcome back!" David gave me a careful hug as I entered. "Can I give you a hand getting upstairs, dear?"

"Sure." I let go of Gray's hand and took David's. He gave me the usual comments like he was glad I was home, he knew I'd talked to the cops, how he hoped the son of a bitch responsible for putting me in the hospital would be caught.

"Thanks so much, David." he watched me lower myself onto the bed, helped me take off my boots and jacket, then draped my robe over my shoulders.

"You're welcome. So are you tired, do you want to sleep?"

"I just want to relax for now." David helped me lay down on the bed, even fluffing up the pillows for me. I could sit up now, as my blood pressure had normalized during last night. Gray's other half left the room, telling me to call him if I needed anything. He would be going to a meeting a noon, though Gray would be up in his writing room for most of the day.

At least I had some books to read and the Python crew had sent me cards and flowers to speed my recovery up. All of them wished me well, Gilliam in particular had drawn one of his cartoons to cheer me up. Eric had put in a quote from the Always Look on the Bright Side of Life song, etc. I lined up the cards on my bedstand, next to a local tabloid paper.

David had put it there I was sure. One of the headlines read: "FRIEND OF GRAHAM CHAPMAN ATTACKED IN ALLEY, CHAPMAN UPSET." the article hinted at some sexual frustration between us which wasn't true, and some "source" had told the tabloid that Gray had been teary eyed in the doctor's lounge as he waited for the test results of something.

Tabloids were such trash. I took it and shoved it in the nightstand drawer where Gray wouldn't see it. Relaxing back, I tried to go to sleep but for some reason, my mind wouldn't let me. I was tempted to ask for more sleep aids but I feared becoming dependent on them. Instead I let my mind wander back to that horrible night.

Then the reality hit me. I had been attacked! How dare that asshole thief attack a lady who was just walking home! It was exactly the kind of thing I expected of thieves. They were a cowardly crew, only attacking in the dead of night and ripping off innocent people.

However there was no point in getting excited about it. What was done is done and I couldn't see any positive about obsessing over the whole incident. John Cleese's card to me particularly warned me not to think about the past but the present and future. Michael's had advised me to brush up on my history as he studied it at Oxford since I had some free time. He knew that would be a good distraction for me and I had to agree.

I didn't know what to feel now. I had been violated but I felt like an empty shell, like my spirit had gone. Lying there alone, it must have been an hour before Gray came downstairs to check on me. He trotted downstairs, footsteps rising and falling, clunking on the wooden boards, and tapped at my door frame.

"Ruby? Are you awake?" unwilling to talk, I kept my eyes closed and pretended to sleep. My mind had a lot to go through and I wanted it to go through it all subconsciously so I didn't have to think about it.

Footsteps receding, he went downstairs to the kitchen as it was almost noon.

Not hungry at all, my mind was keeping me pretty busy. Gray came up and told me that he was going to pop down to the shops for a moment and he would be less than ten minutes. I nodded, not wanting to talk, so he took the hint and left.

I took out the tabloid magazine David had left for me, flipped through it, then found a picture of Gray standing in the hospital hallway going over something on a clipboard. He was leaning against a door and I could just spy the number though it was partially obscured by his shoulder. It was my room. The caption was pretty nonspecific, so I didn't pay much attention.

There wasn't really a mention of me at all, just some guff about Gray and how he used to be a doctor. Well, you couldn't depend on a tabloid to tell the truth, far from it.

For the next few days, Gray came in and checked on me medically, but he seemed to be overly standoffish now, not willing to really engage me or even look at me. David explained that Gray was under some stress to get his latest project off to a good start, but I didn't think that was all that was going on in that analytical mind of his.

I didn't want to ask Gray about it. He'd been examining me in the evenings, right before I got to bed each night, and that was all.

For days afterwards, I began to sink into a deep depression regarding what had happened to me. It started with the dreams, which began about a week after I had been assaulted. I would be walking down a dimly lit street, sometimes at night, sometimes in broad daylight, then a shadowy figure would jump at me, accost me, then start beating me up. Often times the attacker would attempt to rape me, but I would always wake up before that started. At least I wasn't raped, just beaten up, so there was a bit of a bright side to my situation.

One night I woke up in a cold sweat, sitting upright in a flash, startled to feel tears running down my face. The dream was particularly vivid, the usual scenario, but this time the attacker had a face-Gray!

"Ruby?" David's voice permeated around the corner and into my room like a welcome perfume. "You OK?"

My only reply was a ragged breathing, trying to remove the tears from my eyes but they kept coming. David's footsteps creaked on the old floorboards as he crossed the hallway to enter my room. I couldn't see him in the pitch blackness, but by the streetlight I could see a dim silhouette of David taking a seat beside me on my bed.

"We heard you moaning in your sleep, hon," David quietly told me. "are you having nightmares?"

"Yeah," those tears were not stopping any time soon. My friend handed over a box of tissues which I gratefully took.

"Want to tell me about it?" how was it that David came in to talk to me after such a horrid dream and not Gray as well? Didn't he care about me?

I told David all about the dream, wishing Gray was there too. I was grateful for David, but I had a deeper affection for Gray rather than his lover. But then again after telling David that the attacker in my dream has Gray's face, I wasn't so sure I wanted Gray there. How would he have taken it? Did my mind perceive him as the bad guy because he didn't show any signs of wanting to help mentally?

The answer was definitely yes. It was the simple childish way of my mind seemingly rationalizing what was going on. There was much more to it behind those blue eyes of Gray's.

Just like he was reading my mind, David sighed. "I think Gray feels responsible for you getting attacked in the first place."

"How could he?"

"He had thinking about driving you home from work-you know he had some anxiety about you walking home especially in the winter time."

"I didn't know that." David edged his arm around me and gave me a friendly squeeze. I couldn't help but flinch a little bit at someone touching me. David noticed it but he didn't say anything. His grip lessened and I breathed a little more easily.

"It's true. He came to me after arriving home from treating you and he was a wreck."

"Was he really broken up over me?"

"Yeah!" David was vehement. "He came to me in the living room, blubbering about how you were attacked, you'd fainted in the car so he had to carry you in, examine you in the trauma center, and order the X-rays."

I said nothing. It didn't seem to help by talking. Somehow I couldn't imagine what David was saying. Gray had been masking his appearance under the professional veneer around me and all I wanted to do was to get him to drop the act. David sighed when I told him, saying that Gray would have to do it in his own time.

"I understand."

"I'll talk to him," David promised, hugging me and kissing me on the cheek. "think you can sleep now?"

"I don't know. I'll try." sleep was a long time coming.

David got up and went into his and Gray's bedroom. He left the door ajar like he usually did and on impulse, I got up, set my ear to the wall next to the door, then listened in.

"...she's really scared, Gray. She thinks you've abandoned her." Gray didn't say anything. "That's the worst thing you can do to her right now. Ruby needs to know that she's still loved and valued. She's depressed."

"Is she?" Gray sounded too indifferent. Inwardly I fumed. If the situations were reversed, I would be at his side as much as possible! Then again that was an unfair judgment-everyone was different.

"Get your head on straight! Remember that Ruby needs you." no reply. I turned from the door, fresh tears welling up.

Switching on my desk lamp, I pulled out my looseleaf binder, turned to the first page, grabbed a pen, then began to write. Nothing in particular, just pouring out my pent up frustration. The writing kept me up the rest of the night but it was therapeutic.

At around 9 AM, I switched off the light and rubbed my eyes, ready for bed at the wrong time. I marked the page where I had left off, tucked my pen into the mason jar holder, then dressed for the day.

My job had given me two months' leave after all that had happened so I was under no pressure to go anywhere. My head still didn't feel quite right so I sat down on the edge of my bed, picking up a bottle of acetaminophen from my nightstand. After taking a few, David peered in to ask if I wanted breakfast.

"No thanks. I'm not feeling that great."

"What's wrong?" his brows knitted themselves together as he approached me. "Should I get Gray?"

"Nah. My head's bothering me," he wanted to ignore me, I could do it right back. "I just took some medicine. I should be fine."

"All right.." hesitant, I waved him off.

Downstairs I could hear him talking to his boyfriend. "Ruby's not well today, Gray. I want you to go take a look at her."

"What's wrong with her?"

"She says her head's bothering her."

"Did she take anything for it?"

"Yeah she did."

"All right. In about 4 hours if it still hurts, I'll have a look."

"Remember what I said last night, Gray. I know you'll be here all day." silence. I imagined a nod and David was out the door.

The day passed pretty uneventfully. One of Gray's writing pals, a guy named Bernard, came to write.

"Sure we won't disturb Ruby?" he asked on the way up to the writing room.

"No. We just need to keep it down. She'd not feeling well today."

"Aw, I'm sorry to hear that."

"I'm sorry too. Everyone has setbacks." the way he said it, very neutral like, reassured me a little bit. My eyelids were drooping as they clattered upstairs so I curled myself up on the bed for a little catnap, exhaling and trying to meditate a little bit.

Maybe it was the acetaminophen but I didn't dream at all. Perhaps it was the time of day? Couldn't be. The attacker in my dreams attacked whether light or dark outside. Instead of waking up from a nightmare, I woke up about two hours later with my mind a complete blank. I was becoming indifferent to emotion like Gray was, I feared. I was depressed and at the rate things were going with him keeping me at arm's length, it was likely to get worse. Sitting at my desk, I went over what I wrote the night before, prompting a sarcastic smile on my face. It was strong, speaking about innocence lost and friends who turned their backs on you, but compelling.

In the next installment I would write about my depression. Taking up a pen in my hand, I pulled out my office chair, sat down, then turned to the next blank page.

"Depression," I wrote. "is like standing at the edge of a cliff on a great mountain. You're there, teetering on the brink of death and yet nobody seems to notice or care. Your mind is blaming you for all of the misfortunes you've suffered and by extension the ones that you care about. The sense of self worth, the pride you once had, the esteem in which you held yourself is completely gone. They are three flowers which need to be nurtured carefully and delicately if they are to blossom.

"Once they are gone, they take a long time to grow again, like lilies. Once you suffer an unfortunate event of any kind, your three flowers take hits. Depending upon the event, your flowers can grow back so a new blossom replaces the old one, or a blight stunts the growth. You know the blight has attacked your flowers but over time they grow stronger than ever.

"But sometimes an event can occur which cuts the roots of the flowers, killing them slowly at their core. The flowers die, leaving the people around to wonder what had happened. Depression is just like that. It's taking away my roots, the person I used to be, leaving me rotting from the inside out. Instead of thriving in sunlight, I turn inwards and let a part of me die a little more each day.

"What is going to happen, once I cross that bridge to the hereafter? Would my friends still loudly proclaim that I was their friend and mourn for me? Or will they disavow all knowledge of my existence because suicide is taboo? Would they be embarrassed to know me?

"More to the point, if a friend has turned their back on you, what would they do? Would they cry and regret their actions? Would they say they never thought you would do what you did? Would they always assume that you would be able to come out the other side of your depression? Did it ever occur to them that you could reach the other end faster with their love and support?

"Contrary to popular belief, you are not a superhero. Everyone needs help now and then. The bottom line is never feel ashamed of your feelings, whether it be a crush, depression, or any kind of strong emotion. You are human."

That was powerful stuff. It was weird, for I didn't remember writing much of it-it seemed just to flow from my brain to the pen without conscious realization of the words I was putting down.

Anyway, it was for my own self I was putting these thoughts to paper. I never intended to show anyone what I had written.

Three days later everything was just the same. David did come into my room and announce that it was time for me to get back out into the city. At the very sight of the door I grew weak in the knees and began to shake, flashbacks starting in my mind. David told me to hold on to his arm and warn him if I was about to experience a panic attack.

My anxiety built up into sky high levels, but I wanted to go outside again. David was firm and reasonable, saying he'd let me recover from my head injury, giving me some extra days, but he knew he was going to get me back outside again. I trusted David implicitly, grasped his arm, then moved towards the door. He kept up steady reassurance as he turned the doorknob and swung the door open.

The grip intensified as David put his other hand on top of mine. Slowly, we edged towards the outer door, he opened it with a squeak, and pushed it open.

My blood pressure must have been astronomical at that point. I forced myself to be calm, knowing nobody was going to hurt me with David around. Once we hit the doorstep, I looked around, hearing some neighborhood kids playing and a slight smile erupted onto my face.

"There's that smile!"

"Thanks, David. Can we go back in now?" it was starting to snow.

"Sure." we went back in, shutting the door with a thump. To my surprise, a flash of pain shot through my abdomen, making me wonder what that was about. David didn't notice, flopping onto the couch and absorbing himself in the TV.

I must have been overtired. A nap would help me out, especially since I seemed to be spending all my time at night writing my guts out.

In my room, I put on my pajama pants and an old ratty t-shirt, then sprawled out on my bed, though the action made that pain flare up again. What was going on? After I had a nap, I would seek out Gray-whether he was still my friend or not, he had an oath to uphold.

Dreams that went through my mind didn't make any sense at all. There was no point to psychoanalyze them as I knew somehow that I would not remember them. What I did see was a pair of brilliant blue eyes looking at me, all glassy and with concern.

Gray's voice awakened me, making me realize I had slept far too long. Before I could move, I became aware of the fact that my body felt like it was on fire. Why in the hell was I all sweaty?

"Let me go see if Ruby wants supper." David was saying. It was two minutes later he peeked into my room, about to ask, then he did a double take.

"God, what happened?" he leaned over me, running a cool hand over my sweaty face. I wanted to tell him that I was fine but that pain flared again, making me moan in pain.

"Gray!" David called. "Come up here! Ruby's running a high fever!"

The next thing I remember is Gray sitting on the edge of my bed, taking my temperature. He held the thermometer to the light of the lamp, checking the reading. "It's 104.5," he reported. "far too high."

"Oh God." David was there but I couldn't see him. Another flash of pain shot through me and I winced.

"Pain? Where is it?" I indicated where it was and Gray began to palpate the area gently. My mind flashed back to when he massaged my spine back when we first met. What a time to remember that!

"David, go get my medical bag from the kitchen." Gray ordered. "Ruby, how bad does it hurt?"

"Sharp, cutting like a goddamn knife!" I swore. "Honest to God I just want to die!"

"You're delirious," he dismissed my remark. "David!"

It was then I noticed that it was dark outside, my lamp was throwing shadows on the wall that I idly looked at as David came in, thrusting the bag at Gray. He began to rummage through as I saw a particular shadow-one that I had seen in my dreams.

Waving and dancing on the wall, my attacker loomed up, bigger and bigger until he was taller than John Cleese. Then it was happening again, me walking down the street, the attacker accosting me, knocking me down on the icy road. Now there was nothing but blackness but I could hear.

"Pass me the stethoscope; she's hyperventilating."

"Her eyes are open."

"She can't see us, David," did I go blind?! "delirium takes patients to a state of unreality or hallucinations. Go grab those ice packs out of the fridge."

"Right."

"Ruby, can you hear me?" a cool hand grasped one of my hot ones. "You're very sick, but I will get you better, do you hear me?"

"Here's the packs!" something cold was clasped to my forehead. I shivered and turned away. The coldness followed me and I was too weak to put up a fight.

"What do you think it is, Gray?"

"A nonspecific flu. The pain seems to be of a different origin. Probably stress. She has no symptoms of appendicitis so surgery is out of the question." Gray pulled back my blanket and I began to shiver. David began murmuring platitudes, trying to soothe me, while Gray began to massage the area that hurt. The tension eased up a bit, then he put an ice pack on my sore area.

"She can't be left alone tonight, David."

"Who should take first watch?"

"I will. She needs acetaminophen every 6 hours. We need to get her fever down."

"And then?"

"Everything else should sort itself out. People get this all the time."

"True."

"Go to sleep, David. I'll leave you the 3 AM until 7 AM watch."

"All right." David left. My face felt wet but a little cooler. I realized that Gray was wiping down my face with a cold compress to try to give me a little comfort. When he brought his hand back down, I found his wrist, then his hands pressed mine kindly.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, rubbing my hot hand in his cool ones. "for being such an ass. We need each other as David says."

Unable to reply, I could not even open up my eyes. The shadow image of the attacker was still in my mind and I could not seem to get it out. He twitched there, in my mind, just in the edges so I couldn't see him but I knew he was there. During my ordeal he had never even spoken a word. He didn't need to.

For some hours after that, I had strange dreams. None of them made any sense, I didn't remember any of them. I would see myself in an environment that was as blue as Gray's eyes, the land as brown as David's. A second later I was back on the cross country skiing trail where I found the owl and her fledgling. I found myself lifted up, then I was straddling the owl behind its shoulders, both of us were flying together across the horizon.

"We are gathered here today..." a monotonous voice trilled. The owl and I veered closer to see that a funeral was taking place. Gray and David were standing next to the headstone which bore my name! When the service was over, the lovers walked to their car slowly, talking.

"I can't believe it. She was so ill..."

"Don't blame yourself, David," Gray spoke. "I thought she was getting better but she took a turn for the worse.."

"I knew she could get better. Gray, what was in the binder you found?"

"Her feelings," he said simply. "how her life fell apart after the assault, how much she tried to recover but felt like a pariah and after trying to cope and re enter the world outside, she just gave up. She had all the depression symptoms and.." he trailed off, unwilling to speak the horrible truth.

"If only we knew…."

"I could have saved her….." the image was fuzzy and distorted now.

"How is she, David?" the light had shifted and it was daytime. I could feel the brightness and the slight heat on my exposed face.

"Her fever's gone down a degree." was all he answered.

"Better than nothing," the doctor replied. A cold compress was removed from my forehead and a fresh one applied. "has she been speaking in her delirium?"

"No. She doesn't talk in her sleep like you say I do. She hasn't been lucid at all."

"You look tired, David, so go to bed. I'll let you know if there's any change." David gratefully left his position in my desk chair. Gray took up the post, drawing the chair closer to me. Again his cool hand sought out me, running the back of it against one side of my face. I turned into his hand, keeping my eyes shut. There was a little chuckle of amusement from him but that was all. Gray put on his stethoscope, putting the cold disk over my heart and began to listen.

"Normal. Not erratic like it was last night," he murmured. "breathing is still rough." lifting up my wrist, he applied two fingers to the pulse point while I tried to relax.

"All right, the pulse is an improvement over last time." the doctor in him fully in charge now, there wasn't anything I could do but play the invalid. A knock at the door changed things a little bit.

"Michael! What are you doing here?"

"John told me that Ruby is very sick and I wanted to drop off a few get well gifts. David sent me right up." aw! Michael was so sweet. "How is she?"

"Not good," Gray admitted. "if her fever doesn't break soon she could become dehydrated and that's dangerous."

"I see. What's a likely time frame for a fever to break?"

"About 24-48 hours."

"OK. I'll check back then. The others send their well wishes."

"Thanks, Michael. I'll have David give you a ring." Michael departed then, leaving Gray to administer to me.

The remainder of the day evaporated in my mind, sending my subconscious into a tailspin of nonsense, crazy weirdness that was vaguely reminiscent of a Python sketch! I barely registered when Gray or David switched off on their watches over me.


End file.
